Toronto police bust major crypto scheme that scammed couple out of $400k

On Tuesday morning, Toronto Police provided an update on a Bitcoin cryptocurrency investment investigation involving a couple in Toronto who were scammed out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

The complainant in the case contacted police and reported that he and his wife had been scammed out of $400,000 in a cryptocurrency investment scam. 

The man was solicited online and asked to invest in an online platform called "cryptos-seed.com."

The couple was persuaded to send funds via a legitimate cryptocurrency exchange to a cryptocurrency wallet provided by the scammer, who was able to convince the victims that the funds would be secured on the website. 

The man was provided with credentials for the scam website and he was able to watch his "investment" grow significantly on the online platform. 

However, once he sought to withdraw his funds, he was met with multiple excuses and asked to invest more money or pay large fees to have the funds released. 

According to police, communication was done over the phone and the scammer presented as "professional and knowledgeable in the field." 

Eventually, investigators discovered that the complainant essentially sent his money directly to the scammer, who may be located in another country. 

With assistance from the Toronto Police Cyber Unit, the Financial Crimes Unit was thankfully able to return a significant portion of the lost funds back to the victims. 

Police did not provide any information on the suspect, and the investigation is ongoing. 

Investigators are asking anyone who believes they may have been a victim of the cryptocurrency investment scam to contact police. The investigator may be reached via email at 10767@tps.ca. 

Police are also appealing to the public to be cautious when approached online for any sort of investment. 

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7300, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.